<p>- Leading serviced apartment provider will use IBM Cognos software to underpin business growth -</p><p>SYDNEY, JUNE 26, 2008 – Cognos, an IBM company and the world leader in business intelligence and performance management solutions, today announced that Quest Serviced Apartments, Australasia’s largest and most successful operator in the serviced apartment sector, has selected IBM Cognos 8 Business Intelligence, IBM Cognos 8 Planning and IBM Cognos 8 Controller as its performance management platform for streamlining its operational forecasting, budgeting, reporting and planning.</p><p>Quest Serviced Apartments has 113 properties around Australia, New Zealand and Fiji and has built a successful award-winning franchise network over the past 20 years through offering attentive service and a philosophy of continuous improvement. The organisation is currently adding up to 12 properties a year with each one following a specific Quest model of well-appointed, fully-serviced, spacious accommodation particularly designed for the needs of the long-stay corporate traveller.</p><p>Under the terms of the deal with Quest, Cognos will install separate reporting systems with an integrated performance management dashboard for budgeting, tax, management and statutory consolidated reporting.</p><p>In addition, once fully implemented, the IBM Cognos software will provide the Quest Group with an overall view of the business to meet its internal management reporting requirements across its four business units - franchise management, new franchise establishment, property development and property investment . The integrated dashboard solution will be used to unify the organisation's financial reporting and lay the foundation for continued domestic and international franchise expansion and performance management.</p><p>The decision to select IBM Cognos software follows four months research during which Quest performed a detailed needs analysis and considered separate offerings for each component of its requirements. At the end of the process, Quest decided to choose a single service provider based on IBM Cognos’ ability to deliver the complete spectrum of business intelligence functionality on a single platform, simplifying deployment and use.</p><p>“Choosing IBM Cognos software is a defining moment in our business as we go about implementing a true business performance management solution,” said Doug Hutchinson, Chief Financial Officer, Quest Serviced Apartments.</p><p>“Cognos stood head and shoulders above other providers in terms of its technology offering and this was backed up by the positive feedback we received from our general enquiries.</p><p>“We’re very comfortable with IBM’s acquisition of Cognos and were also impressed with the level of contact we had with senior Cognos management during our selection process and their understanding of our needs. They grasped our requirements quickly and were able to demonstrate a solution which was substantially more integrated, incorporated better functionality, is easier to use and required less administrative support than other players,” said Mr Hutchinson.</p><p>IBM Cognos 8 Business Intelligence (BI) provides decision makers at all levels of the enterprise with groundbreaking capabilities to better manage performance by delivering a consistent, accurate view of all business information. As a complete, flexible product, IBM Cognos 8 BI easily integrates into existing infrastructures with multiple systems and data sources. Its simplified BI environment improves user adoption, enables better decision-making, and provides a robust foundation for departmental BI, enterprise BI and performance management. In addition, by implementing IBM Cognos Controller and IBM Cognos Planning, Quest will obtain a transparent, accurate and timely enterprise view of financial performance.</p><p>Business Intelligence, financial consolidation and financial planning are key elements of the IBM Cognos Performance Management System, which combines technology, best practices, analytical applications and solutions, and a broad network of partners into a single performance management solution for customers.</p><p>IBM Cognos software will be progressively implemented at Quest over the next eighteen months with IBM Cognos Planning due to go live in November, IBM Cognos Controller in December, and IBM Cognos BI for management dashboards and Balanced Scorecard reporting during 2009.</p><p>“Once IBM Cognos is fully deployed, we’ll be able to harness knowledge of the underlying financial performance of the company so that we can better plan and model for future business growth. We’re also comforted by the fact that we’ll have a quality IBM Cognos support team on hand during and post implementation,” said Mr Hutchinson.</p><p>Lesley French Sales Executive Australia and New Zealand, Cognos an IBM Company, said “We are delighted to have been selected by Quest Serviced Apartments as a key IT provider to sustain and support their growth path. This agreement highlights Cognos’ ability to create business benefit solutions that can scale with companies regardless of their size, industry sector or competitive framework.”</p><p>About Quest Serviced Apartments</p><p>Quest Serviced Apartments offers a comprehensive range of accommodation solutions across more than 113 properties throughout Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. For more information on Quest Serviced Apartments email qrc@questapartments.com.au</p><p>About Cognos, an IBM company:</p><p>Cognos, an IBM company, is the world leader in business intelligence and performance management solutions. It provides world-class enterprise planning and BI software and services to help companies plan, understand and manage financial and operational performance. Cognos was acquired by IBM in January 2008. For more information, visit http://www.ibm.com/software/data/ and http://www.cognos.com</p><p>###</p><p>Cognos and the Cognos logo are trademarks of Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated) in the United States and/or other countries. IBM and the IBM logo are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, or other countries, or both. Other company, product, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.</p><p>Note to Editors: Copies of previous Cognos press releases and Corporate and product information are available on Cognos' Web site at http://www.cognos.com</p>

Copyright 2018 IDG Communications. ABN 14 001 592 650. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of IDG Communications is prohibited.